Blondies from Dorie Greenspan, and a zine!

January 9, 2011

It’s that time again, when I put together recipes to make a baking zine. This zine will be dedicated to a close friend of mine, and therefore will contain four of her favorite treats. Er, well, four of her favorite treats that are accessible and relatively easy to prepare for any home baker. The best part about making and distributing a baking zine is hearing the recipients tell you about their adventures with the recipes, which is why I try to choose things that are, or can be, prepared with little to no fuss.

The first recipe is for her favoritest baked good, which also happens to be one of mine (coincidence?!), and is one of the easiest things to make with the biggest payoff: the blondie! I’ve been making her blondies with the same recipe for a good year and a half now, but strongly desire to branch out and try something new. Who better to turn to, in the world of baking, than Dorie Greenspan? I was lucky enough to receive Baking, from my Home to Yours, for the holidays, and have poured over it repeatedly since then. I trust her utterly and completely, which is why this branching-out blondie recipe is hers. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. I think elated, ecstatic, and overjoyed are more appropriate adjectives for my feelings towards these blondies.

I wonder if you could go to a restaurant and order a platter like this for dessert? Yes? Please?

The batter is very thick, like cookies, which is different from my normal, kind of liquidy batter. The results were interesting, because the blondies still have a moist, decadent center, but formed a great crust around the edges. My other blondies were pretty uniform. I also love the amount of mix-ins Dorie uses, but you could probably cut back if you’d like. Next time I make these, though, I will add more chocolate. Yeah, I’m that person, the one who over-chocolates everything.

The only real difference between the recipe here and the recipe in the book is my addition of molasses. I love the way molasses makes blondies gooey in the center, and adds a really nice depth to the color.

Seems like I could write about blondies forever, but I’ll spare you. This time.

Imagine a little rover traversing the beautiful, lumpy landscape of these blondies. I like to, anyway. Seems like it would be a grand adventure!

6 oz chocolate for baking (Dorie suggests semi-sweet or bittersweet, and I went with 60% cacao), or one cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips, or toffee bits

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup shredded coconut, preferably sweetened

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and butter a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. If you halve the recipe, you can use an 8 by 8 inch square baking pan. Put the prepared baking pan on a baking sheet.

2. Whisk or sift the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, and leavening agents). Set aside.

3. Cream the butter until it is smooth. If you are using a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed.

4. Add the sugars (and molasses), and beat the mixture for 3 minutes, or until the sugar is incorporated into the mix.

5. Add each egg individually, making sure to beat the batter for a minute after each addition.

6. Beat in the vanilla extract.

7. Either reducing the mixer speed to low or using a wooden spoon, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until visible traces of flour disappear. The batter will be reminiscent of cookie dough.

8. Stir in the mix-ins with a wooden spoon or spatula.

9. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan, and even out the top. The dough is sticky and unruly, so just do the best you can!

10. Bake in a preheated oven, on a baking sheet, for 40 minutes. Or you can take it out 5 minutes earlier if you’re an underbaked blondie fanatic like myself. The top should be browned, and a tester should come out clean.

11. Cool the blondies in a baking pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then remove the blondies from the pan, and cool them to room temperature. To do this, invert the pan onto a cooling rack, then invert the inverted pan onto another rack. Get it?! Sorry for the terrible directions… I’m still feeling out this recipe-writing thing.

Keep the blondies in an airtight container, at room temperature, for 5 days. Or freeze them, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for a up to a month.

You should let the blondies cool for more than 10 minutes before cutting off a corner and indulging. You should, really. Who needs all that melted chocolate on their face?!